Never Can Say Goodbye
by Rhonda Petrie
Summary: Rhonda has just learned that her beloved grandfather is dying and now it is up to her to go on a journey of a lifetime as she travels to the big city with her ohana to see him for what may be the last time. Set after Revenge In Rendezvous; 3rd TL story.


**Never Can Say Goodbye**

**Rhonda Petrie**

**Author's Notes:**

**Well, here I am! This is my next story that takes place the day after the events of "Revenge In Rendezvous". I must warn you though that this involves a very heavy subject, the very kind of topic that I rarely delve into, but the circumstances that have been going on in my life as of late necessitate it. You see, I'm currently going through a terrible family tragedy that has been hard on all of us; my grandfather, who has been battling dementia for over a year, has been in the hospital since last Saturday with a severe infection and last Sunday he was in such terrible condition that I felt guilty that I didn't accompany my father to the hospital to see him and I just broke down and cried right there in the car as I was on my way home from my sister's. I then had to leave town with my mom to see him in order to say goodbye to him for what may be the last time. However, it appears that my grandfather is doing a lot better now and may possibly recover from the infection; he has been eating ice cream and jello and has been taking tiny sips of water, which was great from before. Unfortunately we still don't know what is going to happen to him and we hope the best for him.**

**As soon as I got the news, I got this crazy idea in my head to write this particular story down but at first I was hesitant to do so because I thought I would be disrespectful to my grandfather given the circumstances. Now I'm not saying I'm writing this to profit off his impending death because that was never my intention in the first place; I'm writing this as a way to come to terms with the inevitable and to also reflect on the good times I did manage to have with him for all the years I was fortunate to have him. The ironic thing is, this has always been one of my biggest fears and last weekend I was so close to see that happening. But perhaps he might be able to live for another two months or so; who knows? I guess I also felt extremely guilty because part of me wished that he would stop suffering and another part of me wants me to stay alive. I'm going through a mixture of complicated emotions since it's been a long time since I had gone through a death; my paternal grandmother died approximately 12 years ago when I was about 5, several months before my parents married and I lost my other grandmother when I was 7. **

**So in the meantime I'll have to keep on living as I have always lived while preparing for what may be the inevitable. When he does die, my daddy and I will be in peace knowing that he has gone on to heaven and he will be reunited with my grandmother and my biological mother. Also in this story you will see Rhonda going through a lot of memories that are actually loosely based on the memories I actually have of my grandfather. **

**Anyhow, the story is about Rhonda's turmoil and suffering as she tries to come to terms with the possibility of losing her grandfather. She then decides that she must do the right thing and visit her grandfather to pay her respects to him, and Beatrice, Sybille, Abigail and Team Legacy support her decision. They soon head out to the city of London and reunite with her father Harold along with her cousin Sally, her aunt Harriet, and her step-grandmother Lea. Rhonda and the team soon went out to see their grandfather as they stay with him and keep him company. However, they soon run into trouble as their newest enemies Princess Mombi, Vivian and Ivan show up again looking for revenge. Along the way, the superheroes gain some new allies, including a out of town quirky, eccentric Texan family headed by the head matriarch Peggy Ingram who is a Sunday school teacher and is a devout Baptist. Their new friends then help Rhonda deal with the inner pain and turmoil at dealing with this latest family crisis and Peggy even manages to console her the best way she can.**

**In the meantime, as Rhonda stays over at Gregory and Lea's house for the night along with Sally, Aunt Harriet and her parents, the weight of her beloved grandfather's death begins to take a heavy toll on her as she begins to revisit memories that had been long forgotten and remembers the man she had loved who has now become a shell of his former self. The family comes together as their strong bond helps them to deal for the coming loss that will rock this entire clan to its knees.**

**Read and review!**

**Chapter 1 - Out Of Town  
**

"Rhonda, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Marlena as she sat on the messy, untidy bed with her fellow teammate and queen consort Lee Dumonde and her new leader Rhonda Petrie as the three of them sat together on the center of the bed with the young girl meditating silently between them as her thoughts were drifting aimlessly in her head. The house was silent and eerily quiet as Marlena glanced briefly at the suitcase that had been packed with five days worth of clothes, shoes, combs, water spray, bathroom utensils, cologne, deodorant, etc., and was leaning against the wall just in case Rhonda decided to go to the city of London to see her grandfather.

Rhonda rested her head on her chin as she reviewed the information that she had learned from her stepmother the night before when she and her team had returned from their crazy adventure in the Ohana Onipa'a universe after finally bringing Lee Dumonde home. Rhonda was very surprised to find her parents and her stepsisters sitting in the living room looking unusually quiet and somber as they invited everyone to sit down with them so they could tell them what had been going on.

And it was then that Rhonda received the most horrific news of her life: her grandfather Gregory had been rushed to the hospital with a serious case of pneumonia and his condition was worsening by the hour. The antibiotics that had been administered had no effect on the pneumonia and to make matters worse Gregory had become so weak by the sudden illness that he was unable to eat or drink anything that had been offered to him. His kidneys had shut down on him and he was put on an oxygen tank to help him breathe as the bacteria was ravaging his lungs mercilessly. The doctors had informed Harold that his father's condition had deteriorated so badly that it appears that he may be entering his final days, meaning that he did not have long to live.

Rhonda was overwhelmed and mortified by what she was hearing and she urged her stepmother to tell her honestly that she and her father were not lying to her and her beloved grandfather could not possibly be dying at this moment. "_Tell me it's not true, Mum. Tell me it's not true. The doctors aren't lying, are they?_" she remembered begging and pleading to Beatrice as Lee clutched her hand worriedly and Julie for the second time bit her lower bottom lip as she cuddled close to Doug and the rest of Team Legacy waited anxiously for the Petries' answer.

"_I cannot lie to you, sweetheart. They say that your grandfather may not have long to live. We don't know what his prognosis might be but I must tell you that we might not have him around for much longer,_" Beatrice sighed sadly as Rhonda's jaw dropped and she started shaking as her blood suddenly froze with terror. _No… This cannot be happening! This cannot be real! This can't happen to me! Not now! Not when I'm this young!_

Rhonda knew she had suffered a lot more losses than she could ever conceive, with her own birth mother being brutally and viciously murdered by a jealous co-worker when she was just a newborn infant, then her grandmother Henrietta died as a result of liver failure, and then her step-grandmother, Lidia, died on the operating table while undergoing surgery to remove a gall bladder and a spleen. Now her own grandfather, whom she knew and loved for all these years, was on the brink of death and her entire family was at its mercy.

And as Rhonda absorbed all of the information that she had been told in her head and comprehended the potential emotional implications of this grave and tragic situation, that was when all of the feelings of guilt, shame and despair weighed heavily in her heart and before she knew it she found herself breaking down in a flood of tears; she then began to sob hysterically as she quickly collapsed on the floor and was weeping on Lee's shoulders while everyone rushed over to comfort her. And the last thing she remembered her father saying to her was, _"We're so sorry, Rhonda, but nobody lives forever." "That's right, darling. Everyone has to die sometime," _Beatrice added with a nod of her head.

Then Rhonda dashed up to her room screaming and shrieking hysterically at the top of her lungs as her frantic and loud footsteps could be heard and before anyone could say anything else the door slammed upstairs and everyone fell silent as Beatrice sipped her coffee quietly and Lee glared at her girlfriend's mother angrily as a curt sneer formed on her lips. "_What the hell did you do? You've clearly upset your own daughter! Don't you realize that her own grandfather is dying?_" she screamed at her in a shrill voice. "_Yeah_," Courage piped in with a frown on his face. "_I'm sorry Lee, but it's the truth. Eventually everyone in this house will die and there is nothing we can do about it. Even ghosts must return to the afterlife after a while,_" Beatrice murmured calmly to Lee in the face of her withering and relentless anger as she continued to drink her coffee.

Lee then cackled mockingly as she gave an exaggerated laugh before answering spitefully, "_Only on Judgment Day that is! Until them we might as well stick around and do whatever the hell we want!_" "_I don't think so, Lee! You better clean up your act now because if you do not repent for your sins, you'll burn in hell for all eternity when you die,_" Harold scolded her firmly as Lee snorted disdainfully. "_Harold's right, Lee. This is no time to act haughty and conceited you know. Rhonda is clearly devastated about what is happening to her grandfather and she needs everyone's support,_" Doug conceded with Harold's statement and Lee swerved around to glare at her ex-husband. "_That is exactly why I'm very upset right now; each and every one of you are very insensitive and inconsiderate regarding your treatment of Rhonda and you should all be better friends to her,_" she shot back challengingly as Renee rolled her eyes slightly.

"_Nobody's being inconsiderate, Lee. We're just as upset as she is. Everyone has a different way of expressing it. I'm sure Rhonda has her way to express her grief of her grandfather's inevitable death,_" she retorted sharply at her mother. "_Yeah, you know, Renee's right, Lee. Death is a part of life like anything else. I may not be religious myself, but at least I know that much. When you die, that's basically it. There's nothing you can do anymore rather than cherish and honor the memories the ones you loved for the rest of your life,_" Brian remarked wistfully to Lee, who was rather intrigued by his words. "_I couldn't have said it better myself, Brian,_" Lois praised Brian highly. "_Ah, crap. First we have to go through all this trouble just to get Lee back and now we have to come home to this! Life sucks!_" Peter grumbled irritably as Meg glanced at him solemnly.

"_There's nothing we can do, Dad. We just have to deal with it,_" was her answer. "_Shut up, Meg,_" Peter snapped at her rudely, causing her to immediately clam up. "_You know, Peter, that is no way to talk to your daughter,_" Doug chided Peter as he wagged his finger at him. "_Me? Who the hell are you talking to? You're just a fucking con artist with an old wife and a daughter who is actually related to her!_" Peter shot back at him indignantly. Doug gasped as his face flushed into a furious crimson hue and he raised his fists as he shoved his face right at the middle-aged man's. "_You shut up; Julie is my wife and I love her and I don't give a damn whether or not she and my daughter Hope are half-sisters. After all, my previous wife Addie was the one who made Julie promise her that she'll take care of me and Hope in case anything happened to her,_" Doug growled furiously as he clenched his fists tightly and was fighting his every instinct to drive his fist into Peter's face.

"_Boys, please. We should all be respectful towards one another and also show our reverence towards the Petrie family. Rhonda is going through a very hard time dealing with her grandfather's serious illness and we don't need a petty, stupid argument considering family relations,_" Lois pleaded earnestly as she stepped in between the men and tried to persuade them to stop arguing. "_Oh, is that it? I'll bet your wife made her daughter promise her that because she couldn't live without you. I see; then why did you run off and marry Lee if you love Julie so much?_" Peter continued to taunt and deride Doug cruelly as Julie could see the rage and anger boiling on her husband's face as steam erupted out of his ears and he swung his fist at Peter, causing the younger man to step back in surprise. "_Holy crap!_" Peter cried in astonishment.

"_Boys, please. Enough; this is getting really childish between you two,_" Lois continued to beseech the men to make peace between one another and settle this fight once and for all, even though she knew it was futile. Hope just stood there with an astonished and panic-stricken face as thoughts swirled around her mind and she began to fear greatly for her father's safety. If Peter did anything incredibly stupid and actually did something to cause her father any harm… No, as a police officer, she must step in and defuse the situation before it got out of hand, or worse… And just as Peter was about to deliver a flying swift kick to Doug's face and was about to knock him out with a devastating blow to the head, her older half-sister Julie finally stepped in and held out her hands between her teammates with a firm and disapproving expression. "_Enough,_" she hissed in a threatening, admonishing whisper as she peered sharply at Peter, who gulped, and then at her husband, who then sighed and lowered down his fists and calmed down. "_Julie I am so sorry,_" was his answer as Julie's face softened and she beamed at her team while sweeping her gaze over her teammate.

"_Good,_" she said as Lee scowled and threw a piercing and sharp glare at everyone as she pushed her way through the crowd and headed upstairs. "_Now if you excuse me I'll be in the balcony,_" she retorted as she ascended up the stairs and was gone. That night Lee was standing over the railing as she looked out at the moonlight and was lost in thought. She was smoking a cigarette when Rhonda suddenly came in and asked her how she was feeling. Lee then began to explain her thoughts to Rhonda as Rhonda also began to reveal what had been on her mind as well. It was then Rhonda suggested that they head up to their room and talk things over; Lee then agreed and grabbed her hand as they exited the balcony and were on their way to their room.


End file.
